Henry VIII's Imprisoned Women: The Women of the Tower

By Neha Roy

The year is 1534. Henry VIII sits on the throne of England. He has set aside his first wife, Queen Katharine of Aragon, and has married a second time. The marriage to Anne Boleyn brings a new wave of Reformation in England dividing the people and even leading to arrests and executions, even that of some noteworthy people.

The stories of women, including Henry’s two queens, who were persecuted, condemned and ultimately executed will be explored in this book. Alice Tankerville, the first woman to escape the infamous Tower of London, albeit for a short while; Elizabeth Barton, The Nun of Kent and the only woman to be dealt the dishonor of having her head spiked on London Bridge; Queen Anne Boleyn, whose fall was as tragically spectacular as her rise to fame; Margaret Pole, the last living Plantagenet princess who was denounced as a traitor and met a merciless end in her twilight years; Queen Katheryn Howard, whose daring yet seemingly foolish decisions ultimately led to her downfall; and finally, Anne Askew, the brave Protestant who gained infamy as the only woman to be racked at the Tower.

Through the lives of these women, we will get a glimpse into the reign of the capricious monarch who changed the face of England forever. Apart from this, the book will also delve into the history of the Tower of London, provide a brief glimpse into the life of Tudor women and also into the lives of some noteworthy people of that era.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Apr 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781399095778

Neha Roy

Neha Roy is an educational content writer, and her short stories have been published in her local Bengali society’s annual magazine and online on her Wattpad page. It was her grandfather who introduced her to the world of books and, later, history. He made her fall in love with history by narrating anecdotes from the past and his life experiences. She recently forayed into non-fiction when she started a blog on the Plantagenets and the Tudor dynasty, and the various Tudor books, podcasts and websites available opened up a whole new world.She lives in Gurgaon, India with her husband, in-laws and her 4-year-old daughter. Her Twitter and Instagram handles are @withtudors.

Book preview

SECTION 1

1

The History of the Tower of London

The Tower of London is easily the most notable and noticeable tourist landmark of the city today. The impregnable fortress, built by William the Conqueror in 1066 during the Norman Conquests, has, over the years, served the monarchy of England in many different ways: as a palace, castle, prison, torture chamber, mint, treasury, armoury, records office, observatory and even a zoo.

The Tower of London has played a pivotal role in many events that have shaped the history of the country. From coronations to imprisonments and executions, the Tower has been a silent witness to all. It has been besieged many times as conquering the castle was always of prime importance to control the monarchy and, subsequently, the country.

The Tower earned a bloody reputation during the medieval ages when it witnessed many a great lord and lady fall in disgrace. Many notable people such as Sir Thomas More, Queen Anne Boleyn and Lady Margaret Pole met their grisly ends in its precincts. Mysteries such as the famous disappearance of the two princes and the lesser-known disappearance of Lady Margaret Pole’s grandson, Henry Pole, remain unsolved and haunt the Tower to this day.

Post the Tudor reign, the Tower was used as a prison during the First and the Second World Wars and was damaged in the Blitz. Today, it stands tall as a World Heritage site and is cared for by the Historic Royal Palaces.

William the Conqueror

The story of the Tower starts with the Battle of Hastings, fought in the year 1066 between the English, under the leadership of the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, against the Norman-French King William the Conqueror.¹ This heralded the start of the Norman conquest in England. The battle, in which the Normans emerged victorious, was fought approximately 11km north-west of Hastings, close to the present-day East Sussex.

William the Conqueror was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066.² Despite petty skirmishes and minor altercations, the Battle of Hastings was the decisive end of the Norman Conquest of England.

The new King of England immediately began fortifying his new kingdom by building castles at key locations. Eventually, he turned his sights on to London when he reached Canterbury.

Much to his dismay, he was unable to enter the country’s largest city as the fortified bridge to London was held by the Saxon troops. He instead rampaged towards Southwark and lay waste to the town. Following a series of victories, the city of London finally opened its doors to the Norman conqueror and the new King of England in December 1066.

The fortification of the city of London and the castle building began in earnest. William the Conqueror built nearly thirty-six castles between the years 1066 and 1087. However, there are some references in the Domesday Book which suggests that the number of castles established, mainly by his subordinates, may be more.³

Quoting William the Conqueror’s biographer, William of Poitiers: ‘certain fortifications were completed in the city against the restlessness of the huge and brutal populace. For he [William] realised that it was of the utmost importance to overawe the Londoners.’⁴

To achieve this, William the Conqueror prepared to enter the city in state and sent an advance party to London to prepare for the same. He understood the importance of the city, the Westminster Palace was the centre of government and the city was known for its numerous ports. This was essential for the Normans to establish a stronghold over the newly conquered city.

Two more castles – Baynard’s Castle and Montfichet’s Castle – were built at around the same time as the Tower. The area at the south-east corner of the Roman town walls was chosen as the site for the Tower; the walls served as a readymade defence mechanism. The earliest structure of the Tower, probably built by timber and later replaced by stone, would have been enclosed by a ditch. William the Conqueror may have also considered the River Thames as a potential protective element while drawing up the layout. A timber bulwark may have served as yet another protective measure and an accommodation for William would have most certainly been a part of the plan.

The White Tower, after which the Tower is named, was said to have been constructed around 1076. Gundulf,⁵ Bishop of Rochester was in charge of the construction and it is said that building wasn’t completed until after William’s death in 1087. William the Conqueror’s castle was the strongest point, and included a grand accommodation facility for the monarch. We can easily assume that this part of the Tower was completed by 1100 as records suggest that Bishop Ranulf Flambard⁶, a corrupt clergyman who exacted harsh taxes, was imprisoned there. Interestingly, Bishop Flambard also holds the distinction of the first person to escape from the Tower.

In 1097, as mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, King William II⁷ ordered a stone wall, which very likely replaced the timber bulwark, built around the castle. The Norman Conquest also saw the entry of Jews into London.⁸ The Jewish community used the Tower as a retreat and also as a safe haven when their security was threatened.

Henry I, Queen Matilda and Stephen of Blois

By 1135, the Tower, an impregnable fortress which was located very strategically, was hardly ever used as a royal residence. It was under the charge of a Constable, Geoffrey de Mandeville,⁹ at this time.

The year 1135 saw King Henry I on his death bed and the succession in dire straits. The dying king had urged his barons to swear fealty for Queen Matilda, but it was all in vain as merely a few days after Henry’s death Stephen of Blois¹⁰ arrived from France to take charge and stake his claim on the throne of England. The sly Mandeville went to the Queen’s side in exchange for money after Stephen of Blois was captured in the Battle of Lincoln in 1141.¹¹ However, as the queen’s support decreased Mandeville sold his loyalty to Stephen, thereby amassing immense wealth, partly due to his position as the Constable of the Tower and also through his underhand dealings. He held secret meetings with Queen Matilda, but when caught Stephen had him arrested and stripped him of his position.¹² The position of the Constable of the Tower was no longer a hereditary one as Stephen had Mandeville replaced with his loyal supporters.

Changes to the original form of the Tower were undertaken during the reign of King Richard I by his Lord Chancellor, William Longchamp.¹³ Longchamp was in charge of managing the monarchy in England while the king was away on crusade, and he is said to have spent great sums of money in renovating the castle. Longchamp, according to Roger of Howden, a chronicler, built a moat around the Tower and tried in vain to fill it up with water from the nearby river.

Longchamp, who served as the Constable of the Tower, was preparing for war against Prince John, King Richard’s younger brother, who was trying to take advantage of the king’s absence to seize power. The Tower was under siege for the very first time in its history and the fortifications and additional defence mechanisms were severely tested as Longchamp held out for three days before surrendering to Prince John, resulting in him being crowned king in 1199.

However, his rule proved an unpopular one and his barons rebelled. In 1214 Robert Fitzwalter¹⁴ laid siege to the Tower with his army, but despite being short-staffed it was successfully defended and the siege was lifted after King John signed the Magna Carta. The king, however, in a perfidious move, broke his promises. This resulted in a rebellious outbreak which we know as the First Barons’ War. Robert Fitzwalter maintained his hold on the castle till its regiment of soldiers joined forces with the rebelling barons. King John eventually conceded defeat and the barons offered the throne to Prince Louis, the heir of the French king.

However, there was another faction that backed the deposed King John’s son, Henry, to inherit the throne of England. The two factions – one supporting Prince Louis and another supporting Prince Henry – went to war. Despite Fitzwalter maintaining his hold over the city of London and the Tower, Prince Henry’s arm prevailed over the army supporting the French heir.

Major renovations took place during the reigns of Kings Henry III (1216-1272) and Edward I (1272-1307) wherein the castle was extended, amidst occasional civil unrest, and took the form that we see today.

King Henry III often held court at the Tower of London and is said to have held Parliament there twice as the barons continued to cause unrest. Henry III¹⁵ did not care much about his barons, which led to a feeling of resentment amongst the latter. To quell the rebelling barons, the king needed to ensure that the Tower was amply fortified. He also ensured that the Tower was a comfortable place in which to live, and for this he began work on the innermost ward. The tradition of whitewashing the White Tower – hence its name – began in 1240, during Henry III’s reign. The Royal Mint and the Royal Menagerie were also established in 1248 during the reign of King Henry III.

By way of fortifications, a defense perimeter, which included numerous towers, was built and a ditch was dug on the sides – mainly east, north and west – not protected by the river. Londoners weren’t happy with these expansions due to the disruption that it caused and openly celebrated when the gatehouse collapsed in 1240.

The disgruntled barons united under the leadership of Simon de Montfort¹⁶ and compelled the king to accept a list of reforms, one of which was holding regular parliaments. Cornered, the king and his soldiers took refuge at the Tower in 1261. The warring parties came to a truce and, according to the terms, Henry was required to relinquish the control of the Tower.

In 1265 Simon de Montfort was soundly defeated at the Battle of Evesham and regained control over the city and the Tower. In a highly despised move, Cardinal Ottobuono¹⁷ arrived in England and was given the custody of the Tower. He also excommunicated the rebels, which did not sit well with the public.

Disgruntled by the monarch’s decision, in 1267, the 6th Earl of Hertford, Gilbert de Clare,¹⁸ besieged the Tower with the view that no foreigner or clergyman should gain control of it. He was, however, defeated and King Henry III regained control of the Tower.

The reigns of King Edward I and King Edward II

A seasoned castle builder, King Edward I carried out various expensive renovations at the Tower. Being an experienced warrior himself he also applied his knowledge of siege warfare to fortify the castle accordingly. Heavily inspired by the empires of the East, Edward was instrumental in introducing the building of arrowslits in the castle. He filled up the trench dug by King Henry III and created a new enclosure by constructing curtain walls. A new entrance was created and the Beauchamp Tower replaced the old gatehouse built by King Henry III. In order to make the castle self-subsistent, King Edward I built watermills.

By 1279 the several mints in the country were brought together under a centralised mint located within the Tower. Outside London only a few mints, including a few ecclesiastical ones, continued to operate. This decision may have been taken after 600 Jews were charged in 1278 with coin clipping and imprisoned in the Tower.

The Privy Wardrobe was founded during the reign of King Edward II who ruled England from 1307 to 1327. The Tower saw very little activity during this period save for the time when Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere, became the first woman to be imprisoned at the Tower for refusing to admit Queen Isabella¹⁹ at Leeds Castle and ordering her archers to fire at them, resulting in the deaths of six members of the queen’s entourage.

The Tower did not make for a very secure prison. In 1323 Roger Mortimer²⁰, Baron Mortimer, was aided in his escape by the sub-lieutenant who cut out a hole in his cell wall and helped Mortimer flee to a waiting boat which took him to France. Baron Mortimer eventually gained infamy for having an affair with the queen, whom he met in France, and for plotting to overthrow the king.

Mortimer returned to England in 1326, captured the Tower and released its prisoners. Mortimer virtually ruled England as King Edward III was too young, but by 1330 Edward III²¹ captured Mortimer and incarcerated him in the Tower. The king’s battlefield exploits were legendary: he captured King John II of France during the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers and also King David II of Scotland at Neville’s Cross. His royal prisoners complained about the lack of hunting facilities at the Tower, where they were imprisoned, and King Edward III subsequently had it renovated accordingly.

Richard II

King Richard II started the tradition of a procession from the Tower to Westminster Abbey when he was coronated in 1377. He wasn’t a very popular ruler and during the Peasant’s Revolt²² in 1381 he was trapped in the Tower as the crowds laid siege to it. As he left to meet Wat Tyler²³ the crowds stormed in and looted the Jewel House. Afraid of the rampaging mobs, Simon Sudbury²⁴, the Archbishop of Canterbury, sought refuge in St John’s Chapel hoping that the rebels would respect the sanctity of the place and spare him.

However, matters for the archbishop took a grim turn as his sanctuary was broken into and he was unceremoniously dragged over to Tower Hill and beheaded. King Richard II was imprisoned in the White Tower as Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV and the grandson of King Edward III, returned from exile to claim the throne of England for himself. King Henry IV faced a minor revolt and shut himself in the Tower when the supporters of the erstwhile King Richard II staged a coup which ultimately failed²⁵.

Over the next few years the Tower was home to many distinguished prisoners. King James I of Scotland, when he was still heir to the throne, was kidnapped and held there. The prisoners from the Battle of Agincourt, in which England saw one of its greatest battlefield triumphs under the leadership of King Henry V, were also imprisoned in the Tower until they were ransomed.

Wars of the Roses

In 1460, when the Wars of the Roses were in full swing, the Yorkists forces laid siege to the Tower. The artillery fire, used for the first time during the Battle of Northampton, damaged the Tower and it was during this battle that King Henry VI was captured. After being briefly reinstated as the king in 1470 with the help of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the deposed King Edward IV recaptured Henry VI and imprisoned him in the Tower where he was mysteriously found dead.²⁶

The Tower was further fortified during this time to withstand gunfire, and loopholes and a bulwark were constructed for cannons and handguns. During the Siege of London in 1471 the armies of York, who were stationed at the Tower, opened fire at the Lancastrian forces.

King Edward IV committed fratricide when he had his younger brother, George, Duke of Clarence, executed at the Tower. The ever impulsive George made a grave mistake of accusing the Queen of England, Elizabeth Woodville, of witchcraft after the death of his wife, Isabel Neville. The duke was attainted for treason and sentenced to death. He was rumoured to have been drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, his chosen way to die, in his room in the Tower.

The Tower’s greatest mystery, however, was the disappearance of the princes,²⁷ the two sons of King Edward IV. On King Edward’s death in 1483, his son Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, was proclaimed King Edward V. As he was too young to rule, the deceased king’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed Lord Protector, on the suggestion of his royal brother, to rule the realm on behalf of his twelve-year-old nephew.

Richard took custody of the young king at Stony Stratford while he was returning to London from Wales and lodged him in the Tower whilst imprisoning, and later executing the boy king’s uncle, Anthony, Earl Rivers, and his half-brother, Richard Grey. He planned a grand coronation for his nephew which never took place. He, along with his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, were last seen in public in June 1483 after which they disappeared. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was then crowned King Richard III. It is believed that they were smothered to death in their sleep but the identity of the murderer, despite the countless conspiracy theories, remains unknown (in 1674, bones believed to be those of the princes were discovered in a box under the stairs of the White Tower). King Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor, who ascended the throne of England as King Henry VII, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

The Tower under the Tudors

King Henry VII²⁸ did not use the Tower much as a royal residence; rather, he used it more as an armoury and a prison. He hardly spent a week staying there, visiting on fourteen occasions between 1485 and 1500. The Yeoman Warders of the Tower have been serving as the Royal bodyguards since 1509.

In 1532 Thomas Cromwell spent a huge sum of money in renovating the castle, importing tons of Caen stone for the work. The accommodation facilities, though, remained deplorable and the castle was in no state for any sort of royal accommodation.

The reign of King Henry VIII²⁹ saw the Tower gain a grim reputation as a place of torture, incarceration and execution. The Tower held a number of notable prisoners, among them Queen Anne Boleyn, Lady Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, and Queen Katheryn Howard, all of whom faced the executioner’s axe (or sword in Anne Boleyn’s case). It also held the maverick Alice Tankerville, who became infamous as the first woman to escape from the Tower (albeit briefly), Elizabeth Barton, the nun from Kent (who was later hanged to death at Tyburn) and the Protestant martyr Anne Askew (who was later burnt to death at Smithfield).

This book tells us the story of their lives.

2

The Life of Common Women in the Tudor Era

The Tudor era boasted of a number of notable women, aside from the queens of the two monarchs, King Henry VII and his son, King Henry VIII. Apart from the ones whose lives are described in this book, there are many others who were instrumental in leaving an indelible mark on English history: Lady Margaret Beaufort, the matriarch of the Tudor royal family, was a formidable woman who helped shape the fledgling dynasty into a force to reckon with; Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Blount gave King Henry VIII his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, whom the king made the Duke of Richmond and seriously considered naming him his heir when he was disillusioned by the birth of his daughters; Mary Boleyn, his mistress whom he discarded for his second queen, Anne Boleyn; Nan Seymour, his favourite queen’s sister-in-law; Lady Margaret Douglas, the king’s niece, and many more.

However, there is very little written about the common women of that era. One of the few exceptions is Anne Askew who recorded her trials and subsequent torture in The Examinations of Anne Askew. So what was life like for a woman in Tudor England?

Inheritance

Although a male dominated society, daughters were allowed to inherit land in the absence of legitimate sons. This was not the case in Wales where the man’s inheritance was divided equally amongst his sons, even illegitimate ones. Barony by Writ, too, could be inherited by daughters. In the case of multiple daughters, the barony would not be vested until the family reached an agreement as to which daughter and spouse would inherit it.

Baronies by patent were granted by a written order of the king, especially to the heir of the body which made the said title inheritable by women, the prime example in this case being Margaret Pole being elevated as the Countess of Salisbury in her own right.

Common women, on the other hand – the peasants, farmers and the likes – were usually trained in domestic work with the intention of finding employment in rich households, as was the case with Elizabeth Barton. They were expected to work there till they married, some even continuing after marriage.

Marriage

Marriage for many women was usually an economic agreement between the respective parents. A common woman would find it hard to survive without a partner to support her economically. This can be the reason for multiple marriages in the case of both men and women. Widows remarrying across all strata of English society was not uncommon either. Nor did class hierarchy matter much as it was very common for widows of tradesmen to marry their subordinates in order to carry on with the business.

Marriages in that era were more of a contractual agreement than an act of love. However, one thing common in every class of society with regards to matrimony was consent between the man and the woman. Therefore, marriages fixed in childhood required consent when the children reached majority (twelve in the case of girls and fourteen in the case of boys). However, as children obeyed their parents unquestioningly, consent was not a difficult thing to obtain.

A Dutch resident in London observed that although women were entirely in the control of their husbands, they enjoyed a good amount of freedom. They were not kept behind closed doors like other Europeans but often sat outside their houses and met up with their neighbours. They dressed in good clothes and often left the mundane household work to servants.

Sex and Divorce

With regards to sexual intercourse and displays of affection, the English were notoriously less prudish than their European counterparts. Abstinence was considered unhealthy by doctors, though excessive sex was considered a sin and men were accused of treating their wives as prostitutes.

Women were considered inferior to men and often described by the clergy as driven by their physical desires. The concept of divorce did not exist before the Reformation. If a spouse wished to obtain a divorce, the said person had to prove that the marriage was invalid on one of the following grounds: lack of consent; lack of dispensation in case of a close affinity; an existing precontract with another; insanity of the partner; or non-consummation of marriage. For commoners divorce was an expensive affair, but it was not uncommon amongst the royals and nobility.

Childbirth

The main purpose of marriage during the Tudor era was to provide heirs – whether royal, noble or common. Pregnancy and birth were a complicated affair at that time especially as the former was difficult to diagnose. Phantom pregnancies were commonplace and a woman could only be sure of being pregnant when her child began moving. While the upper classes went into confinement in comfort, lesser privileged ones usually had birthing sheets passed down through generations. It was not unusual for common women to give birth without any preparations. The process of birthing was a perilous affair and it wasn’t uncommon for the mother and/or child to lose their life during or after birth.

Crimes

While we can find records about crimes committed by upper-class or noble women, those committed by common women largely went unrecorded. Of those crimes recorded, the most common were adultery and thieving.

With new avenues of learning and religious views becoming a lot more liberal than that in the Plantagenet era, the number of victims – usually women – slowly dwindled. It was during the Plantagenet reign when the dowager queen, Elizabeth Woodville, and her mother, Jacquetta,